18,000 more reservists to be called up; PM says campaign may expand; cabinet voted unanimously for land op.; rocket barrage shot down over Tel Aviv; earlier, terror tunnel attack thwarted near kibbutz

A fire in Gaza after an Israeli attack Thursday July 17, 2014. (Screen capture: Channel 2)

An illustrative photo of an Israeli soldier flashing the "V" for victory sign from an armored personnel carrier (APC) at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 17, 2014 (photo credit: AFP/ Jack Guez)

An Iron Dome Missile Defense battery set up near the southern Israeli town of Ashdod fires an intercepting missile on July 16, 2014 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Palestinian relatives of four boys from the same extended Bakr family grieve during their funeral in Gaza City, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 (photo credit: Emad Nassar/Flash90)

Palestinians carry the body of a Hamas operative, who medics said was killed by an Israeli air strike which took place before a five-hour humanitarian truce, during his funeral in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 17, 2014 (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Weapons found inside a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa on the Israel-Gaza border on July 17, 2014. (photo credit: IDF Spokesperson's Office/Flash90)

Young Orthodox Jews dance to support the soldiers at an army deployment area near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on July 17, 2014 (photo credit: AFP/Menahem Kahana)

The Times of Israel liveblogged events as they unfolded through Thursday, the tenth day of Operation Protective Edge. At nightfall, Israel launched a major ground offensive on Hamas in Gaza, after a day of ceasefire efforts in Cairo. Hamas, which failed with a pre-dawn terror attack from a tunnel near a border kibbutz, and fired rockets into Israel throughout the day, vowed that Israel would pay dearly for sending in its troops. (Friday’s liveblog is here.) Remember, you can also follow @TOIAlerts on Twitter — we’re live-tweeting all the updates there as well.

UN calls on Hamas to abide by truce

The UN appreciates Israel’s willingness to abide by a humanitarian ceasefire Thursday, and calls on Hamas to follow suit, says a spokesperson for Robert Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

“I can now confirm that Mr. Serry received confirmation from the Government of Israel that a humanitarian pause will commence today, 17 July, at 10:00 a.m., for the duration of 5 hours, ending at 03:00 p.m. Mr. Serry appreciates this Israeli decision and repeats his call on Hamas and other factions to respect the humanitarian pause from their side, in the interest of the people of Gaza,” says Serry’s spokesperson in a statement released early Thursday morning.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry (photo credit: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch/Flash90)

‘Israel has a right to defend itself’ — Obama

US President Barack Obama reiterates that Israel has a right to defend itself: “As I’ve said repeatedly, Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks that terrorize the Israeli people. There’s no country on earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of rockets. And I’m proud that the Iron Dome system that Americans helped Israel develop and fund has saved many Israeli lives.”

Speaking to reporters, Obama adds that he supports the Egyptian ceasefire plan.

Turning to civilian deaths in Gaza, Obama says that his heart breaks for those caught in the crossfire, including the four children killed on the beach Wednesday.

Obama does not blame Israel for the deaths.

US President Barack Obama speaks as he hosts an Iftar dinner in the State Dinning Room at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2014. Obama said he hopes Egypt’s ceasefire plan can restore calm in Gaza (Photo credit: Jewel Samad/AFP)

Sirens in Kiryat Malachi, Be’er Tuvia, Kiryat Gat

Hamas agrees to 5-hour ceasefire

Hamas on Thursday agreed to join a temporary Gaza ceasefire requested by the United Nations on humanitarian grounds.

“The group agrees to a ceasefire for five hours,” starting from 10:00 am (0700 GMT) Thursday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri said in a statement.

Earlier the Israeli military said it had accepted a UN request to halt its attacks on the Gaza Strip in what a senior United Nations official called a “humanitarian pause.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri (photo credit: AP/Hatem Moussa)

“Between 10:00 and 15:00 (0700-1200 GMT), the Israel Defense Forces will cease operational activity within the Gaza Strip and hold its fire,” an army statement said.

Abu Zukhri said the same.

“The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning,” he told AFP.

“It is in the interest of all the citizens of Gaza, in order to give them a chance to go to the hospital, get health care or get food,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, told Israel’s Channel Two television on Wednesday evening.

Paris bans pro-Palestinian protests

(AP) — French authorities are forbidding pro-Palestinian protests in some cities after violence marred a recent march against the violence in Gaza, as Jewish-Muslim tensions in France have reached their highest level in years.

Moderates on both sides called Wednesday for calm, and for a halt to fighting in the Mideast. France has Western Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations, and Israeli-Palestinian unrest often translates into anger between the communities.

Screenshot from a video uploaded to YouTube showing what appears to be pro-Israel demonstrators clashing with pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Paris on July 13, 2014.

After several thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully Sunday through Paris, clashes broke out among small groups, including some who attacked synagogues, Jewish stores and neighborhoods.

Militants from the Jewish Defense League were also involved in violence against pro-Palestinian demonstrators, according to Roger Cukierman, head of France’s leading Jewish organization, CRIF.

Speaking Wednesday to the Associated Press, he denounced the league’s violent methods and lamented that its actions Sunday — including provoking pro-Palestinian protesters — could further inflame anger.

A march was planned for Paris on Saturday. A police official says it would be banned because of “the serious risk of disruption of public order that such a protest could engender, in a context of heightened tension.” The official, who wasn’t authorized to be publicly named, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Canada’s Conservatives post video supporting Israel

Though support for Israel in Europe and North America has been strong over the course of Operation Protective Edge, Canada’s government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has been a leading voice defending Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacks.

Canada’s ruling Conservative Party posts a video to YouTube, “Through fire and water,” reaffirming that support. The two-and-a-half-minute clip shows pictures of Canadian leaders in Israel and troops around the world, interspliced with speeches by Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

Quiet night in Israel

Apart from a series of rockets in the wee hours of the morning Thursday, it has been a quiet night in Israel. The relative calm could be a result of the 5-hour humanitarian ceasefire scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.

IDF releases graphic of aid delivered to Gaza

The IDF spokesperson’s office tries to focus attention on the supplies Israel is sending through the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Gaza Strip. It tweeted out an infographic Thursday morning with some of the statistics, including 3 tons of medical supplies and 65 trucks of food and general supplies.

As Hamas fires rockets on Israel, we continue to transfer goods into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing pic.twitter.com/wYUn1iEy9c

IDF thwarts major cross border attack

The IDF thwarts a large scale infiltration attempt along the Gaza border, as 13 armed terrorists emerge from a tunnel on the Israeli side of the border at dawn.

An IDF spokesperson describes the attack as similar to a series of other thwarted attacks over the past 10 days of warfare, including two infiltration attempts from the sea near Kibbutz Zikim, an offensive tunnel near Kerem Shalom, and a drone attack earlier this week.

The IDF action that stops the attack before it is sprung is “obviously a huge success,” says Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.

The terrorists, he says, emerge from the tunnel early Thursday some 250 meters inside Israel. Lying flat on the ground, in an open area two kilometers from Kibbutz Sufa in the Eshkol region, the 13 armed men are spotted by what Lerner terms “different sensors” at approximately 4:30 a.m.

Realizing that they’ve been discovered, the terrorists attempt to run back underground but are struck by IAF aircraft. Lerner says some are hit but he cannot state how many.

IDF confirms no terrorists remain in Sufa area

The IDF says residents in the Kibbutz Sufa area south of the Gaza Strip can begin to leave their homes.

The IDF ordered all residents indoors for the past few hours as it battled a large Hamas infiltration into Israel, with 13 terrorists emerging from a tunnel near the small community at around 4:30 a.m.

Soldiers saw the infiltration in time and opened massive fire against the Hamas force. After hours of searches, the army says none of the attackers remain in Israeli territory. Some were hit by IDF fire, the army says, while some fled back through the tunnel, which has been bombed as well.

Residents of the area are urged to follow the IDF’s instructions as the immediate threat winds down.

Abu Khdeir murder suspect: We only planned to beat him

One of the two minors arrested for the kidnapping-murder of East Jerusalem teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir says the three perpetrators of the murder had only intended to beat the Palestinian youth, not to kill him.

Once they had Abu Khdeir in their hands, he says, the third suspect in the murder, a 30-year-old family member of the two minors, urged them to murder the bound and beaten youth.

Sirens sound in Ashkelon, followed by explosions

Sirens sound in Ashkelon, and residents report hearing two loud explosions in the skies. It is not immediately clear whether rockets land in the southern city or the explosions mark Iron Dome interceptions.

Australia blasts Hamas

“Hamas claims to represent Gaza, yet it has jeopardized the welfare of its own people by rejecting the proposal for a ceasefire,” the government in Canberra says in a statement. “The Israeli Government demonstrated leadership by accepting the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire proposal.”

However, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop acknowledges Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s support for the ceasefire and his call for all Palestinian factions to accept it, which serves the interest of the Palestinian people.

“Australia continues to call on all parties to exercise restraint and to restore the ceasefire agreement of November 2012,” the statement continues. “Australia remains of the view that a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and the Palestinians living in peace and security within internationally-recognized borders, remains the only durable basis for peace.”

That earlier ceasefire has been replaced by a new UN-initiated proposal for a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire set to begin Thursday at 10 a.m. local time. Both Israel and Hamas have said they plan to abide by the new ceasefire.

Haredi website welcomes ‘miracle’ in Kibbutz Sufa

The Haredi news website Kikar Hashabat has its own take (Hebrew link) on the IDF’s remarkable early-morning interception of a massive Hamas infiltration into Israel Thursday.

“Just a few hours before the start of a humanitarian ceasefire, the Hamas organization tried to carry out a major attack from a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa on the Gaza periphery — but by the Grace of Heaven [the attack] failed,” the website reports in otherwise terse, newsy prose.

The IDF’s interception of the attempted terror attack “is a miracle in the chain of miracles” Israel has experienced since the start of fighting, the website explains to its readers.

No humanitarian ceasefire, just a ‘window,’ IDF says

The so-called “humanitarian ceasefire” brokered by the UN and set to begin at 10 a.m. local time “is not a humanitarian ceasefire,” says IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz. “The correct concept is a humanitarian window requested by the United Nations, [to help] the population trapped in Gaza under a regime that uses it as hostages.”

“We call on Hamas to allow Gaza [to have this window]. If we have to attack [to prevent rocket fire during the window], we won’t hesitate to do so,” Almoz says.

Army says ‘we knew Sufa attack was coming’

The army says it knew about the Thursday morning infiltration by 13 Hamas fighters into Israel before it happened.

“We knew this would come. We knew specifically about this tunnel. We knew Hamas would try [to launch a terror attack] in any way it can,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz tells Channel 2.

“This attack was meant to be a killing spree in one of the villages nearby,” Almoz says. The volley of rockets that hit central Israel in the last hour, just ahead of a humanitarian ceasefire beginning at 10 a.m., “was meant as an envelope for this attack,” he adds.

The IDF has foiled multiple such surprise attacks in recent days, including two attempted infiltrations near Kibbutz Zikim by Hamas frogmen.

Israel’s Southern Command had been preparing for such attacks for a while, Almoz explains. “[Southern Command chief] Maj. Gen. [Sami] Turgeman has spent days and nights preparing for this, and the forces were on very high alert. We are working to make every morning turn out like this. We assume Hamas has more tunnels and plans more attacks.”

IDF soldiers seen near armored personnel carriers (APCs) by the southern Israeli border with Gaza, on the eighth day of Operation Protective Edge, July 15, 2014. (photo credit: Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

So far, Hamas has only delivered operational failures, Almoz says.

It is not clear how the Hamas fighters fared in the fighting. “We don’t know that 13 terrorists are dead,” Almoz says in response to an anchor’s question, “but that 13 fled. We’re not sure how many are hurt or killed. We know Hamas is under massive pressure; this failure only increases the larger failure.”

He lists the IDF units involved in the successful interception of the Hamas attack: the anti-insurgency Egoz battalion, the elite Maglan unit, the 401st Armored Brigade and reserve units called up in recent days.

Humanitarian ceasefire goes into effect

A five-hour humanitarian ceasefire begins.

It follows a volley of rockets on central Israel and an attempted infiltration early Thursday by 13 Hamas fighters into a Jewish village south of the Gaza Strip. There are no hurt or injured Israelis in either attack.

The IDF says the ceasefire, or “humanitarian window,” as the IDF calls it, will last as long as Hamas refrains from rocket fire.

‘We trust the IDF,’ say Kibbutz Sufa residents

“Our residents are very strong, connected to this place and trust the security forces,” says Eyal Brandeis, spokesman of Kibbutz Sufa, a small community south of the Gaza Strip that was the site of the largest attempted Hamas infiltration to date on Thursday morning.

“The army told residents around 4:30 [a.m.] to stay in their homes and not come out,” Brandeis relates. “Those who live on the Gaza border know what this instruction means. We’re so close that we hear the war from our porches.”

Sufa residents are not frightened by the close call, Brandeis says.

“These people are connected to the land of Israel. This is our home, we fight for it every day, with all the problems of living in the periphery in terms of infrastructure and other problems. Now we’re going back to our daily lives. Everyone is going to work and continuing our regular lives.”

Ceasefire sends Gazans outdoors, to the bank

Israel Radio reporter Gal Berger says Gazans are reporting increased traffic in Gaza’s streets for the first time in days as the five-hour humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas goes into effect.

There are lines of hundreds of people outside banks, which are opened for the first time in 10 days, he reports. Municipal officials are using the opportunity to repair electricity and water infrastructure damaged in the fighting.

IDF publishes footage of morning Hamas attack

The video shows just how exposed Hamas fighters were in the attempted infiltration near Kibbutz Sufa south of the Gaza Strip — perhaps suggesting how desperate the organization is to pull off at least one “quality” terror attack.

Hamas claims success in morning infiltration

In keeping with its practice in recent days, Hamas is telling Gazans about military successes that never took place.

This morning’s attempted infiltration was headed off by the IDF, leading to the 13 Hamas fighters involved in the operation to attempt to flee back through the tunnel moments before the tunnel was bombed by Israel’s air force.

But according to reports quoting Gaza radio stations, Hamas is claiming the operation was a success and Hamas fighters managed to kill Israelis.

Palestinian radio in Gaza reporting that the cross-border tunnelers killed and wounded Israelis.

Hamas made similar false claims of success after its frogmen failed to get off the beach near Zikim in two separate attempted raids on the kibbutz before being killed by the IDF, and after the army shot down a Hamas drone over Ashdod.

Both sides uphold ceasefire in its first hour

Timing of Hamas infiltration ‘not random’

A former commander of the Gaza division and the army’s operations branch, Maj. Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv, says in a conference call with journalists that the timing of this morning’s attempted attack “is not random.”

Ziv says that the 13-man squad of terrorists that emerged from a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa, some 250 yards inside Israel on Gaza’s southern border, is an expression of “how cynical Hamas can be,” since the attack, directed against civilians, was launched several hours before the onset of a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

He notes that the central challenge in combating this form of cross-border infiltration is in detecting the tunnel and its many branches. The army, he says, often lacks “the visual of the tunnel itself.”

EU ‘concerned about Gaza humanitarian situation’

The European Union says that Israel has a right to protect itself against missiles from Gaza but calls on the army to act “proportionately” and to avoid civilian casualties.

The European Council, the body comprising the member states’ heads of state and government, “condemns the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians,” it says in a statement. “Israel has the right to protect its population from this kind of attacks. In doing so, it must act proportionately and ensure the protection of civilians at all times.”

The council “deeply deplores the loss of innocent lives and the high number of wounded civilians in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli military operations and is deeply concerned about the rapid and dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation,” the statement continues. “The European Council calls on both sides to deescalate the situation, to end the violence, to end the suffering of the civilian populations notably by allowing access to humanitarian assistance, and return to calm.”

The European leaders welcome ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire and calls on Hamas to agree to such a ceasefire.

“Israelis and Palestinians need to make the strategic choice of peace in order to allow their future generations to live lives freed from past conflicts and to enjoy the stability, security and prosperity which they are currently being denied,” the statement reads.

Abbas to meet Egypt’s Sissi over Gaza

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Thursday amid intensifying efforts to end the exchange of Hamas rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes that have led to over 200 deaths in Gaza since the start of fighting on July 8.

The meeting, announced by Egypt’s presidency, comes as Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls Gaza, agreed to briefly halt hostilities Thursday on humanitarian grounds.

Cairo has once again become a diplomatic hub to end the fighting in Gaza after Egypt initially proposed a ceasefire that was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas, which said the proposal did not address the Gaza group’s demands for a ceasefire.

Abbas on Wednesday in Cairo met Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuq, who insisted on changes to the Egyptian truce plan including guarantees on opening border crossings to the besieged Gaza Strip.

Bill Clinton warns Israel is ‘isolating itself’

Former US president Bill Clinton is warning Israel about “isolating itself from world opinion” due to the lack of a “viable” peace process with the Palestinians.

More than 220 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died during 10 days of Israeli bombing and shelling in Gaza in retaliation for over 1,300 rocket attacks on Israeli population centers by Hamas fighters.

“Over the long run it is not good for Israel to keep isolating itself from world opinion because of the absence of a viable peace process,” Clinton tells the Indian NDTV news channel on Wednesday.

“In the short to medium term, Hamas can inflict terrible public relations damage on Israel by forcing it to kill Palestinian civilians to counter Hamas,” he adds.

Hamas has a “strategy designed to force Israel to kill their own (Palestinian) civilians so the rest of the world will condemn them [Israel],” while Israel couldn’t “look like fools” by not responding to the heavy missile attacks.

Clinton, who pushed hard while president for a comprehensive peace deal at a Camp David summit in 2000, urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume serious talks.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu could and should make a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians,” he says, adding that he believes 60 percent of Israelis would support him.

The objective of all should be “a peace process that gets Israel security recognition and peace and that gets the Palestinians their state,” he says.

US teen beaten by police returns to Florida

The Palestinian-American teenager who relatives allege was beaten by Israeli authorities returns home to Florida, saying he will never think of freedom in the same way again.

Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, and his mother fly back to Tampa on a flight arriving late Wednesday from New York and are greeted by about 50 cheering supporters waving American and Palestinian flags. The Abu Khdeirs had flown out of Israel earlier in the day.

“I am only 15 but I will never think of freedom the same as I did two months ago,” Tariq says upon arrival at Tampa International Airport. “No child, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to die.”

Tariq Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian-American teen who relatives allege was beaten by Israeli authorities earlier this month, is greeted by family, including his grandmother Huda Abu Khdeir, after he arrived at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday night, July 16, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Jason Behnken)

The teenager says the thoughts and prayers of the supporters had helped him, adding “I got through these past two weeks because I knew you were all thinking of me.”

Now, he says, he just wants time with friends and to relax. “It feels so good to be back in Tampa. Can I even put it in words? I can’t wait to go back to play with my friends and go fishing,” he says.

3 mortars fall in northern Eshkol area

Three mortar shells fall in the northern Eshkol area on the Gaza periphery. The fire is a violation of a humanitarian ceasefire announced Thursday morning, but it is not clear that it was carried out by Hamas, the only Gazan terror group that agreed to the ceasefire.

The fire marks a violation of the five-hour humanitarian ceasefire agreed to by both sides. Israel has vowed to return fire if the organization resumes shooting during the truce, but there are no immediate reports of IDF reprisals.

Egypt says Gaza ceasefire bid alive

Egypt’s foreign minister says its proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is gaining momentum, calling it the only viable way to stop an “intolerable humanitarian situation” in Gaza.

“The plan has been widely endorsed by the Arab League, it has been endorsed by the European Union… and it continues to gain momentum in terms of recognition,” Sameh Shukri said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.

The plan, which includes easing access to Gaza, was accepted by Israel this week but rejected by Hamas, which said it had never been consulted, a claim Shukri denied.

More than 230 Palestinians and an Israeli have been killed in 10 days of cross-border fighting as Israel has sought to end Hamas rocket fire on Israeli population centers.

PA may take over Gaza crossings, says Herzog

Opposition chairman and Labor leader MK Isaac Herzog says the Palestinian Authority may take over the Gaza Strip’s crossings into Israel and Egypt, and in the process begin the Strip’s return into PA hands.

“In the current circumstances, there’s a possibility for a diplomatic process that will see the Palestinian Authority taking over the crossings [into Gaza], taking civil control, and thus beginning a natural dismantling process [of the Hamas regime in the Strip],” Herzog tells Army Radio.

The current five-hour humanitarian ceasefire “is an opportunity to reach a general calm in the region,” he adds.

Abbas meet with Egypt’s Sissi begins in Cairo

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting now with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo to discuss developments in Gaza.

Egypt is playing a key role in efforts to broker a ceasefire after 10 days of Hamas rocket fire on Israeli population centers and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes that have killed over 200 Palestinians.

One arrested in Temple Mount altercation

On the tenth day of Operation Protective Edge, tensions are high on the Temple Mount.

A handful of Muslim worshipers at the site begin shouting at Jewish tourists, and the two groups are separated by police. One Palestinian youth is arrested in the incident.

Some 35 Palestinians have been arrested in the past week throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem in incidents of public disorder, including throwing rocks and firebombs and burning tires in protests, police report.

It is not clear what support the ceasefire has. Israel already agreed to an Egyptian ceasefire proposal in the past week, but Hamas rejected it. The sides have been discussing a ceasefire in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Nor is it clear whether such a ceasefire would last very long. Today’s five-hour humanitarian ceasefire saw Hamas launch at least three mortar shells at the Eshkol Regional Council.

Sources say no ceasefire yet, but talks progressing

There is no ceasefire agreement yet, Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian sources are telling The Times of Israel. But the sources agree that significant progress has been made in the ceasefire negotiations.

The Israeli security cabinet and the Hamas leadership will each hold a meeting on the progress of the talks tonight.

The current proposal is based on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s suggestion that a ceasefire be declared first, and then discussions will begin on the opening of the Rafah passage with Egypt, which would be manned by Palestinian Authority forces.

Post-ceasefire, a look at Gaza’s fleeting calm

Gaza residents crowd banks, vegetable markets and shops, taking advantage of a brief ceasefire that offered the first respite from 10 days of fierce fighting between Hamas and Israel, a truce that ended at 3 p.m. today.

The truce is briefly thrown into doubt when Hamas fires three mortar shells toward Israel after the truce takes effect at 10 a.m., but it appears to be an isolated incident and Israel does not respond.

Gaza City, a virtual ghost town for the past 10 days, returns to apparent normalcy within minutes of the start of the truce. Streets are jammed, motorists honk horns and Hamas police direct traffic at busy intersections.

Crowds of hundreds form outside banks, with people jostling and shouting to get to ATM machines. In an outdoor market, shoppers fill plastic bags with fruit, vegetables and freshly slaughtered chickens.

The rush to restock signals that Gaza residents don’t expect a quick end to the fighting. Egypt renews its own ceasefire efforts after its initial attempt collapsed earlier in the week, but the demands of Israel and Hamas remain far apart.

“The situation is likely to get worse because there is no clear way out of it,” says Moussa Amran, 43, a money changer in central Gaza City.

No injuries or damage in Beersheba rocket fire

‘Hamas nixed truce so it could take hostages first,’ IDF says

IDF sources believe Hamas rejected the Egyptian ceasefire offer on Tuesday because it did not want the fighting to end before it had a chance to carry out the massive terror attack planned for Thursday morning.

According to the sources quoted by Army Radio, the operation Thursday, which saw 13 Hamas fighters infiltrate into Israel near Kibbutz Sufa, was intended to kidnap Israeli civilians or soldiers. The Hamas fighters were equipped with equipment to aid in such an abduction.

Hamas believes that any ceasefire negotiation would be conducted much more in its favor if it had Israeli hostages in its possession, the IDF says.

Siren sounds in Sderot

Sirens are sounding in Sderot.

Rocket fire from Gaza continues in the wake of the end of the humanitarian ceasefire earlier today. Rockets have been fired at Beersheba, Ashkelon, the Eshkol Regional Council and other areas. Multiple rockets have been shot down over Beersheba today by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Hamas’s time has run out, vows Bennett

On a visit to Ashkelon, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett says “Hamas’s time has run out.”

“In recent days, Israeli residents are subject to a concerted and ongoing attack by Hamas, whose purpose is to hurt as many Jews as possible in as many ways as possible, through rockets in the air, infiltrations by sea, terror on land and explosive tunnels underground,” the chairman of Jewish Home says.

“Hamas is not only cruel, but cowardly. While IDF soldiers fight for the children of Israel, Hamas terrorists fight at the expense of Palestinian children. In light of Hamas’s continuing attacks, Hamas’s time has run out.”

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, seen in the Knesset, June 09, 2014. (photo credit: FLASH90)

Bennett reiterates his call for Israel to increase the force of its strikes on Hamas.

“Now is the time to turn from an Iron Dome defense to an iron fist offense,” he says. “Tens of thousands of IDF soldiers, active duty and reserve, have been stationed all along the Gaza periphery and have been on high alert for many long days now. Israel’s residents are united, the government is united across the political spectrum behind the prime minister of Israel. With god’s help, we will win.”

It is not clear if Bennett is expressing a hope, or a statement of policy. The cabinet has been anything but united in recent days over what to do in Gaza. Is Bennett’s comment a sign that Israel’s leadership is coming to a decision to up the military campaign?

UNRWA confirms rockets discovered in its school

Twenty rockets have been hidden in a Gazan school operated under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, officials from the organization confirm.

UNRWA officials in Israel are summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, where they apologize to Israel for the incident, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman says.

UNRWA, which is responsible for the “welfare of Palestine refugees,” is known in Israel as exceedingly critical of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem has not officially commented on the discovery of the rockets.

UNRWA is expected to issue an official statement, but so far the organization’s official Twitter feed only contains tweets critical of Israel, such as those lambasting the government for inflicting “severe trauma” on the children of Gaza.

Ban Ki-moon says short truce can lead to longer one

A little less than an hour after a short humanitarian truce expires, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon releases a statement calling for the five-hour ceasefire to serve as the basis for a more permanent end to the fighting.

“The pause shows that a cessation of hostilities is possible if all the parties demonstrate the necessary will and put the interests of civilians, who have borne the brunt of this escalation, first,” reads a statement released by his spokesman. “Encouraged by discussions in Cairo, the Secretary-General hopes today’s humanitarian pause can lead to a more durable calm and expresses once again his support for international efforts, led by Egypt, to arrive at a sustainable ceasefire.”

Major highways around Beersheba closed

Israel Police has closed a number of major roads in southern Israel near the southern city of Beersheba. Route 25 east of Beersheba, Route 241 north of Ofakim and Route 40 north of Mashabim Junction are closed because of “the situation,” the police say in a tweet.

According to Daniel Nisman, a security analyst on Twitter, there is an ongoing security situation near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, near the border with the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA condemns the arms in its school

The UN’s Palestinian refugee organization issues a condemnation of the groups responsible for placing weapons in one of the schools it operates.

“This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law,” UNRWA says in a statement. “This incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestine refugees in Gaza.”

UNRWA notes that it has a strict no-weapons policy and that it has procedures to maintain neutrality and inspect its installations for arms, and it vows to “uphold and further reinforce its procedures.”

“Immediately after discovery, the Agency informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA has launched a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Sirens in Nirim, Ein Hashlosha, Kerem Shalom, Eshkol region

Siren in Ashkelon

Muhammed Abu Khdeir recognized as terror victim

East Jerusalem teenager Muhammed Abu Khdeir, who was abducted and killed by Jewish extremists on July 2, will be recognized as a victim of terrorist activity, officials at the Ministry of Defense say. The ministry came to the decision after police determined that the murder had been carried out on nationalistic grounds, most probably as a revenge attack for the killing of three Israeli teens three weeks earlier.

Earlier Thursday, the Jerusalem District Court indicted three suspects in the killing of 16-year-old Abu Khdeir.

The state prosecution asserted that, hours after the three Israeli teens were laid to rest, the three strangled and beat the East Jerusalem teenager, and while he was unconscious, burned him to death in the Jerusalem forest.

The indictment also charged two of the defendants with the attempted kidnapping of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Beit Hanina the night before the murder, an attempt to burn Palestinian cars, and arson against a Palestinian store in the West Bank village of Hizme in June.

The indictment said that the three went on “a human hunt,” during which they “cruelly kidnapped and murdered the minor Muhammed Abu Khdeir simply for being an Arab.”

The indicted include a 29-year-old resident of Adam, in the West Bank, and two 16-year-olds — one from Jerusalem, the other from Beit Shemesh. According to the indictment, the adult and one of the minors have a history of mental illness and are presently on medication.

The name of the 29-year-old suspect is expected to be made public later today.

Roads near Gaza Strip closed

Sirens in Eshkol region

Two rockets intercepted over Ashkelon

Israelis near Gaza border told to stay indoors

Residents of communities near the border with the Gaza Strip have been instructed to remain in their homes amid reports of a “security situation” in southern Israel and police closure of roads in the vicinity.

Sirens in Eshkol region, Netiv Ha’asarah

Turkish PM says Israel trying ‘genocide’

“This is not the first time we have been confronted by such situations,” Erdogan says at a meeting of Islamic scholars in Istanbul to mark the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

“Since (the creation of the state of Israel in) 1948 we have been witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every day and every month,” he says. “But above all we are witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every Ramadan.”

While he is at it Erdogan also slams the United Nations for not advancing world peace.

“What is the UN doing? Why has it been founded? For world peace? Does it contribute to the world peace? No. They are serving whatever their secret agenda is.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu adds his two cents by saying Israeli counterpart Avigdor Liberman is not to be taken seriously.

During an televised interview Davutoğlu rejects Liberman’s claim, reported by Haaretz, that Turkey and Qatar had worked to “sabotage” an Egyptian ceasefire proposal

“I have never taken the Israeli foreign minister [Liberman] seriously,” Davutoğlu says according to the Turkish Hurriyet daily. “How can I take seriously someone who talks about cleansing Palestinians from invaded areas?”

Siren in Ashkelon area, Nirim, Ein Hashlosha

Foreign Ministry calls on UN to condemn arms in UNRWA school

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responds to the discovery of a weapons cache in an UNRWA school by calling on the international community to condemn it as a violation of international law.

“Yet again, Gaza terrorists abuse UN facilities to carry out their violent activities. Hamas and other terror groups are determined to put civilians in harm’s way and will respect nothing in their violent frenzy,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor told The Times of Israel.

“We expect the UN and the international community to condemn and to act strongly against this brazen violation of international humanitarian law, which endangers children and UN humanitarian activities.”

British deputy PM says Israeli actions ‘disproportionate’

Britain’s deputy prime minister speaks out against Israel’s operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the IDF’s actions are “deliberately disproportionate.”

According to a report in the Guardian, Nick Clegg says the current operation in Gaza “is amounting now to a disproportionate form of collective punishment. It is leading to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is just unacceptable.”

Sirens in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Nes Ziona, Rehovot

Soldier injured by Gaza mortar fire

The IDF reports that a soldier was lightly injured by a mortar fired from Gaza. The spokesperson gives no indication of when or where the incident took place, and is likely referring to a person reported wounded by a mortar earlier today.

Sirens in Ashdod, Kiryat Gat

Massive barrage intercepted over south

Iron Dome intercepts 12 over Ashdod

A massive barrage of 12 rockets fired minutes ago at the southern towns of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Rehovot was intercepted by Iron Dome over the city of Ashdod. One other rocket impacted in an open area, Ynet reports.

Live rocket fragment falls on Gedera

Rocket explodes next to house in Netivot

A rocket explodes next to a house in the town of Netivot, causing damage to the building. No injuries are reported. At least two rockets are intercepted over the town in the same barrage, Channel 2 reports.

Diplomacy bogged by web of regional rivalries

Intensive diplomatic efforts are continuing to bring the sides close to a ceasefire. After a flurry of reports, quickly denied, earlier Thursday indicating the sides had reached an agreement, Channel 2 news reports the sides are still far from coming together, partially hampered by a web of regional rivalries.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, in Cairo for talks, has been mediating between Egypt and Hamas, since the Gazan terror group refuses to speak to Cairo. In the meantime, Israel refuses to speak to Hamas, making the diplomatic channel more like a game of telephone.

Channel 2 also says Abbas wants Israel to free the final, fourth group of security prisoners — who were supposed to be freed at the end of March as part of the US-brokered peace talks — as part of a ceasefire deal. This group includes Israeli Arabs, whom Israel refused to free at the time, as it sought and failed to get a commitment from Abbas that the peace talks would continue past April.

Meanwhile, Israel is making clear to US Secretary of State John Kerry that his mediation efforts are not needed. An unnamed source tells the news outlet that Israel thinks Kerry may have undermined Egyptian peace efforts by speaking about Hamas’s preferred Turkey-Qatar diplomatic channel.

Over 100 attend Breaking the Silence rally

Breaking the Silence, a dovish IDF veteran NGO, holds a rally at the Habima Theater Square in downtown Tel Aviv “to call for an end to violence and occupation in Gaza together.” At least 150 people are at the event, in which veterans are reading testimonies of their experiences in previous IDF operations in the Gaza Strip.

A counter-protest of right-wing activists broke out alongside the Breaking the Silence rally.

3 rockets downed over Ashkelon, total stands at 28

At least three rockets were just intercepted over the city of Ashkelon by the Iron Dome system. The total for Thursday now stands at 28, the majority of which occurred after the truce expired at 3 p.m.

US urges Israel to ‘redouble efforts’ to avoid casualties

Washington steps up its critique of Israel’s airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip Thursday, with State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki casting doubt as to whether Israel was really taking all steps possible to avoid civilian casualties.

After two separate incidents of Gazan children being killed were reported in as many days, Psaki says that the State Department is “increasingly concerned about the safety and security of civilians on both sides” and that the US was “asking for a redoubling of efforts moving forward to prevent civilian casualties given the events of the past couple days.”

Psaki tells reporters that Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the issue in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the past 24 hours. “We believe there is more that can be done” to protect civilians, Psaki says.

Expanding on her reaction to Wednesday’s killing of four Gazan children playing by the city’s fishing pier, Psaki describes the US as “heartbroken” by reports of children’s deaths, and that – regarding the specific incident Wednesday– “the reports were horrifying, the photos were horrifying and the video was horrifying.”

Psaki says State Department officials, including Kerry “were heartened to see the statement by President Shimon Peres in which he spoke to the deaths of these children” but underscores the fact that they did not consider Peres’s statement to be a condemnation of the children’s deaths.

Israelis living near Gaza Strip told to remain indoors

Residents of Israeli communities located near the Gaza Strip have been instructed to remain indoors, Israeli media report. The news comes as IDF tanks, artillery, ships and planes are pounding targets inside the Palestinian territory and power is out on the east side of the Strip.

IDF ordered to prepare for expanded ground op

After ordering ground troops into Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement that Netanyahu and Ya’alon have instructed the IDF to be prepared for an expansion of ground operations as part of its attack on Hamas terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

“Through terror tunnels such as these, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory early this morning with the aim of carrying out mass terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens,” the Prime Minister’s Office says.

The green light for ground ops in the Gaza Strip was given by the cabinet after Israel agreed to an Egyptian ceasefire proposal which Hamas rejected and afterward launched rockets at Israel, the PMO says. It also pointed at Hamas’s abrogation of the five-hour humanitarian truce earlier on Thursday.

According to the IDF, the expansion of Operation Protective Edge “will include close coordination between IDF units including infantry, armored corps, engineer corps, artillery, and intelligence combined with aerial and naval support” as well as support from the Shin Bet and intelligence agencies.

The PMO says it will continue with Operation Protective Edge until it reaches its objective — restoring quiet for the residents of Southern Israel for an extended period of time while “inflicting a significant blow” to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.

Erdan says cabinet unanimously approved ground op

Minister Gilad Erdan says the decision to launch the ground offensive was approved in principle “several days ago” by unanimous vote of the security cabinet. He says the Hamas tunnels dug under the Israeli border are “a strategic threat” that Israel could not abide.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to US Secretary of State John Kerry on the phone, but no details of the conversation have been released.

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